The Iconic Linksys WRT Router is Back

Back in black (and blue) Photo: Linksys

It’s one of the most recognizable pieces of technology from the past 20 years — well, at least for networking nerds. For many of them, the blue and black Linksys WRT router was the first gateway to broadband. And like the Ford Mustang, it’s back with a still-recognizable but slightly more aggressive design.

The $300 reboot, known as the Linksys WRT1900AC, features 802.11ac, 5GHz band speeds up to 1.3Gbps, and 2.4 GHz speeds up to 600Mbps. Wired connections are handled by four gigabit ports. External drives can be attached to the router via a USB 3.0 port or an eSATA/USB 2.0 port. And just like the old WRT, the WRT1900AC has protruding antennas — four of them to be precise. All can all be adjusted or removed. The stackable router also brings back customization.

One feature that should make networking nerds happy is that Linksys is working with the OpenWRT community to have an alternative open source firmware available for the new WRT at launch. If the default firmware isn’t working for you, download an open source version and tinker away. This is one of the features of the original WRT line that made them a favorite among the open-source community.